John 17
The full text of John 17 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 Jesus said these things, then lifted his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.
2 just as you gave him authority over all flesh, so that he may give eternal life to all you have given him.
3 And this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
4 I have glorified you on earth; I have completed the work you gave me to do.
5 And now, Father, glorify me at your side with the glory I had at your side before the world existed.
6 I have made your name known to those you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.
8 For I have given them the words you gave me, and they received them and truly knew that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
9 I am asking on their behalf. I am not asking for the world, but for those you have given me, because they are yours.
10 All that is mine is yours, and yours mine, and through them I have been glorified.
11 I am no longer in the world, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, guard them in your name, which you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are.
12 While I was with them, I kept them safe in your name, which you gave me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one doomed to destruction, so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
13 But now I am coming to you, and I say these things while I am in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy in them.
14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not from the world, just as I am not from the world.
15 I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.
16 They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
17 Set them apart by your truth; your word is truth.
18 Just as you sent me into the world, so I also have sent them into the world.
19 And for their sake I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.
20 I am not asking for them alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
21 Father, that they may all be one—as you are in me and I in you, may they also be in usa—so that the world may believe that you sent me.
22 The glory you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one as we are one,
23 I in them, and you in me—that they may be perfected into one, that the world may know that you sent me, and have loved them just as you loved me.
24 Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so they may gaze on my glory—the glory you gave me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
25 Righteous Father, the world did not know you, but I knew you, and they knew that you sent me.
26 I have made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them, and I in them.
Translation notes (33)
- John 17:1a The Greek phrase 'the hour' (hē hōra) is a recurring term in John's Gospel that refers to the specific moment of Jesus's crucifixion and glorification (see John 2:4; 7:30; 12:23; 13:1).
- John 17:2a "All flesh" (πάσης σαρκός) is a Semitic idiom for all humanity in its mortal frailty (cf. Gen 6:12; Isa 40:5; Dan 7:14).
- John 17:2b The Greek phrase "everything you have given him" uses a neuter singular form to refer to the redeemed as a unified gift, which is then spoken of individually as "them" (see John 6:39; 17:24).
- John 17:3a This can also be translated as 'that they may know.' The Greek verb γινώσκωσιν (ginōskōsin) is in the present subjunctive tense, which suggests an ongoing or relational sense, meaning 'keep knowing.'
- John 17:3b The Greek word order places the name 'Jesus Christ' last ('whom you sent, Jesus Christ'), emphasizing it as a climactic or final identification.
- John 17:4a This can also be translated as 'by completing the work...' The Greek word τελειώσας (teleiōsas) is an aorist participle, a verb form that can describe how something is done (the means or manner) or a situation that accompanies an action.
- John 17:4b The Greek word τελειόω (teleioō) means bringing something to its intended goal or fulfillment, rather than simply stopping it. This same idea of completion extends to John 19:30, where Jesus declares, 'It is finished.'
- John 17:5a The Greek phrases παρὰ σεαυτῷ (para seautō) and παρὰ σοί (para soi) mean 'alongside yourself' and 'alongside you.' They are translated as 'at your side' in both instances to maintain a deliberate parallel structure in John's Gospel, connecting Jesus's communion with the Father before his human birth to the glorification he now requests (see John 17:24).
- John 17:5b πρὸ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον εἶναι: temporal articular infinitive locating the Son's shared glory before creation itself, not merely in eternal plan (cf. John 1:1; Phil 2:6; Heb 1:3; 1 Pet 1:20).
- John 17:6a The Greek word ephanerosa (from phaneroo) means 'made known,' 'manifested,' or 'disclosed,' suggesting a progressive unveiling rather than a single event.
- John 17:6b The Greek word onoma, meaning 'name,' is retained here. Some translations render 'your name' simply as 'you,' but in John 17, the Father's 'name' is an important theme (compare John 17:11, 12, 26).
- John 17:9a The Greek word eroto means 'ask' or 'request.' John distinguishes Jesus' erotan (asking) from the disciples' aitein (asking or demanding) (compare John 16:26).
- John 17:9b In John, 'the world' (Greek kosmos) refers to the human order that opposes God, not humanity in general (compare John 1:10; 15:18–19; 17:14).
- John 17:10a This can also be translated 'in them.' The Greek phrase en autois can mean 'through them' (as a means) or 'in them' (as a location); 'them' refers to the disciples. John's usage elsewhere (compare John 17:4; 13:31–32) suggests the meaning 'through them'.
- John 17:11a This can also be translated 'keep those whom you have given me in your name.' This interpretation understands the Greek word ho as 'whom,' referring to the disciples, rather than as 'which,' referring to 'name.' The Greek text is the same (ho), but it is understood in two different ways.
- John 17:12a Some Greek manuscripts read ho ('which'), referring to the name; however, some early witnesses (manuscript D and some Latin translations) read hous ('whom'), referring to the disciples. The critical Greek text prints ho as the more difficult reading, which is usually preferred, and is also better supported by other manuscripts.
- John 17:12b 'The one doomed to destruction' translates the Semitic idiom 'son of destruction' (υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας; cf. 2 Thess 2:3) — meaning one destined for ruin, not literal sonship. The Greek wordplay between ἀπώλετο ('was lost') and ἀπωλείας ('destruction') is partially preserved.
- John 17:13a This can also be translated 'so that my joy may be made complete in them.' The Greek word pepleromenen describes joy in a completed and full state.
- John 17:14a The Greek phrase ek tou kosmou literally means 'out of the world,' indicating origin or source. The traditional translation is 'of the world.'
- John 17:15a This can also be translated 'from evil.' The Greek phrase tou ponerou is grammatically ambiguous and can mean either 'the evil one' (masculine) or 'evil' (neuter).
- John 17:17a The Greek word hagiasan (a command form of hagiazo) carries a consecratory sense, meaning 'to set apart for sacred use,' similar to Old Testament priestly dedication. Compare verse 19, where Jesus uses the same verb for himself.
- John 17:17b The Greek phrase en te aletheia can be understood as 'by the truth' (meaning the truth is the means of consecration) or 'in the truth' (meaning the truth is the sphere or context of consecration). Both meanings are present.
- John 17:17c 'Your word is truth' translates a Greek phrase where the word aletheia ('truth') does not have the definite article 'the.' This makes a statement about the nature of God's word, rather than identifying it with one specific truth.
- John 17:18a This can also be translated 'I also sent them.' The Greek past tense verb apesteila can be understood as anticipating the formal commissioning of the disciples in John 20:21.
- John 17:19a The Greek word hagiazo means 'to set apart as holy.' Its meaning includes both religious dedication (like a priest or a sacrificial victim) and a broader consecration to God. This is the same verb Jesus uses for the disciples in verse 17.
- John 17:19b This can also be translated 'by truth.' The Greek phrase en aletheia is ambiguous, meaning it can be understood as 'in truth' (referring to a sphere) or 'by truth' (referring to a means). The translation keeps this ambiguity, matching verse 17.
- John 17:20a The Greek word pisteuonton (a present participle) can also be translated 'who believe' or 'who come to believe.' The future sense in the main text reflects the expectation that people will be reached through the apostles.
- John 17:21a Some Greek manuscripts (A, Theta, Psi, ƒ¹·¹³, and later Byzantine manuscripts) add the word 'one' here, resulting in 'may they also be one in us.' The critical Greek text omits 'one,' following other important early manuscripts (P66, Aleph, B, C*, D, W).
- John 17:23a The Greek phrase teteliomenoi eis hen means "completed or perfected into one." This describes a state that has been fully achieved and is now settled, rather than something still in progress. The Greek word hen ("one") is the same word used in verses 11, 21, and 22.
- John 17:24a The Greek text first refers to "what you have given me," treating the disciples as a single, collective gift. Then it shifts to "they also," referring to them as individual persons.
- John 17:24b This can also be translated as "behold" or "contemplate." The Greek word theoreo implies a sustained, perceiving kind of sight, not just a quick glance.
- John 17:25a This can also be translated as "has not known... have known... have known." The Greek aorist verbs used here can be understood as a simple past action or as an action completed in the past with a continuing result.
- John 17:25b The phrase "Righteous Father" (pater dikaie) is similar to "Holy Father" (pater hagie) in John 17:11. These are the only two times in this prayer that Jesus directly addresses the Father using such titles.
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